


Back in the City

by TuesdayWriter



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ba Sing Se, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25543546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuesdayWriter/pseuds/TuesdayWriter
Summary: It has been 5 years since the end of the war and a big celebration is to be held in Ba Sing Se. Zuko has arrived early to spend time with his uncle, but little does he know, Iroh has invited someone else to come early and spend quality time with his nephew.Zutara Week 2020 Day 1: Reunion
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52
Collections: Zutara Week 2020





	Back in the City

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! It's my first time participating in Zutara week and my first time writing anything for AtLA. This was written hastily and has not been proofread or edited. Hope you enjoy!

It had been five years since the end of the war. Ba Sing Se was holding a large festival to celebrate the event and all of Team Avatar was expected to attend. Iroh had secured housing for everyone in the upper ring and they were all expected to arrive the day before the festival.

Zuko had arrived a week prior to spend some quality time with his Uncle and help him with any preparations at the Jasmine Dragon. Unbeknownst to Zuko, Iroh had invited another member of Team Avatar to also arrive early. Iroh knew his nephew had been feeling down lately and wanted to give him some quality time with a friend he knew Zuko cherished. 

Three days before the festival, Zuko was cleaning tables in the Jasmine Dragon when he was startled by a sudden voice.

“Table for one, please.” 

Zuko turned to see Katara bounding towards him. He held his arms open and received her hug. It had been nearly 2 years since they had last seen one another. They stayed in touch via letters but it was nothing compared to seeing her face and hearing her voice. 

“It’s so good to see you, Zuko. It has been too long! And have you gotten taller?! I think you’re taller than Sokka now. Will you guys ever stop growing?” 

They had pulled apart but Katara’s hands were still grasping Zuko’s upper arms while he was holding her waist.

“It’s good to see you too, Katara! I can’t believe how long it’s been…” They were interrupted by Iroh entering the dining room. 

“Miss Katara! How great it is to see you! Thank you for coming all the way here to celebrate with us!” Katara pulled herself away from Zuko to hug Iroh.

“Hello Uncle Iroh. Thank you for the invitation. You know I would never miss the opportunity to see you and to celebrate the victory over the Fire Nation.” Katara turned around to stick her tongue out at Zuko, who couldn’t help but laugh at the childish gesture. 

“Yes, it was a victorious occasion! Plus, I would never say no to a party!” Zuko chuckled at his Uncle and went back to wiping down tables. 

“Is there anything I can do to help out?” 

“No, no, no. Miss Katara, you are a guest. I am sure you are hungry after your journey, why don’t you allow Zuko to escort you to lunch?” 

Immediately knowing what his Uncle was trying to do Zuko rolled his eyes as he was wiping down the nearest table. Iroh was always meddling in Zuko’s affairs. Zuko knew he meant well, and it was mostly endearing but sometimes it was intrusive. In fact, the only good thing about living so far from his uncle was the fact that he couldn’t readily set up meet-cutes like this. Zuko was surprised that he had been in town for so long without his Uncle trying anything, but he now realizes that he was just waiting for Katara to show up. 

“Uncle…” 

“Actually, that sounds great! Let me just change into some Earth Kingdom robes. I want to go down to the lower ring and have a look around. Is that okay with you Zuko? I can go by myself if you don’t want to or are too busy?”

Things might be better than they were in Ba Sing Se but perfection takes time, and even if she is one of the most powerful waterbenders of all time, Zuko did not feel comfortable sending her to the lower ring alone.

“No, not busy at all, go ahead and change. I’ll wait here for you.” 

Katara left the restaurant and Zuko turned on his uncle. 

“I know what you’re trying to do, Uncle.”

“What do you mean? I am not doing anything.” 

“I know you have this weird idea about me and Katara but it’s not happening. We are just friends…”

“But you could be so much more.” Iroh wiggled his eyebrows at Zuko. 

“No, we can’t. I’ve talked to you about this. She ended things with Aang because she didn’t want to be ‘the Avatar’s girl’. She’s not going to trade that title for ‘the Fire Lord’s girl’. Besides… never mind. Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do but it needs to stop.”

“I have done nothing and there is nothing to stop. I just happened to mention in my last letter to her that you seemed down as of late and it might be nice if she came into town early to help pick up your spirits. She was the one who agreed and now that she is here, things will happen as they are meant to happen. It’s like I always say, Zuko, you’ve got to feel the flow…then go with it.”

Zuko just rolled his eyes again. His uncle was many things, a liar was not one of them. So, he knew Katara had chosen to come to Ba Sing Se with the intention of cheering him up. It is a nice gesture but Katara would probably do the same for any of their friends. There was no reason for Zuko to assume her early arrival was anything more than a friendly gesture. He went into the back of the tea shop to give his uncle his apron. 

“Thank you, uncle.” 

“Have fun, Zuko.”

Zuko walked outside the teashop to wait for Katara’s return but she was already coming back up the walkway. She had changed into a simple deep green, sleeveless, tunic top and dark brown leggings. Now that the apron was off, Katara could see that the wrap tunic Zuko wore was very loosely tied at the waist and almost completely open. She had to stop herself from making a comment about his broad chest. She knew he was still kind of shy and easily embarrassed. She didn’t want him to tighten his belt or opt for an outfit change, so she just decided to enjoy the view. 

“Alright, Fire Lord, are you going to be okay with the commoners down in the lower ring? Should I order a golden palanquin and carry you around?”

“Haha, very funny coming from the person who never spent more than a few hours in the lower ring. Wasn’t the home you guys stayed in actually on the palace property?”

“Fair point…but the last time you were down there, you weren’t a Fire Lord.”

“And I’m not one today. While I’m here, and especially while I’m down in the lower ring, I am just Zuko.” 

Katara closed the distance between them while linking arms and dragging Zuko towards the train to the lower rim. 

“Well, just Zuko, I hope you remember some good food spots in the lower ring because I am starving.” 

The five years since the end of the war had done little to change conditions in the lower ring. Most of the battle that took place between the White Lotus and the Fire Nation had happened in the lower ring and the devastation was still present. It seemed like the Fire Lord was going to have to speak to the Earth King about their efforts regarding the clean-up of the lower ring. Zuko took quick glances down every alley they passed and noticed shady characters down most of them. The marketplace was busy and perfect for any pickpocket. Their Earth Kingdom clothes helped them not to stick out but Zuko always felt conspicuous and Katara wasn’t exactly unnoticeable. Zuko just hoped that everyone in the market would be too busy going about their day to really pay any attention to them. 

“Oh! This stall has some lovely jewelry! Let’s go check it out!”

Katara ran over to the stall dragging Zuko with her.

“Hmmm… since I do so much traveling, I should pick something neutral that will go with anything. What do you think of this?” Katara held up a silver necklace that had an abalone shell charm on it. 

“It is very pretty.” 

“Excuse me, ma’am, may I try this on” 

The shopkeeper was speaking with another shopper but she nodded at Katara. Katara undid the clasp and handed the necklace to Zuko. Katara turned her back towards him and held her hair up. Zuko hated that he got so nervous around her. He had been trying to convince himself for the longest time that his feelings for her were irrational. That they had been tempered by war and so they felt stronger than they actually were. He had to just ignore them. For the sake of their friendship, he had to pretend that his feelings were only friendly. He reached around her keeping as much distance as possible between them and secured the necklace. Katara turned back towards the cart to look at a mirror. 

“It looks great. It’s long enough so you can wear it with your mother’s necklace.” Katara smiled at him in the mirror. 

“You’re right, ma’am, how much is this one?”

“Oh, that is a very special piece. The abalone came from the shores of the Northern Water Tribe. I couldn’t possibly sell it for less than a gold piece.” 

“One gold piece?! For abalone? There are literally a million of these all over the northern and southern tribes. They’re not even remotely rare. I’ll give you a silver piece, and even that is too much.” The woman looked taken aback and Zuko couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Well, maybe your boyfriend will be willing to pay full price for it…” Zuko was about to correct the woman when Katara jumped in. 

“No, he wouldn’t. Our offer is one silver piece, or we’ll take our business elsewhere.” The woman looked towards Zuko. All he could do was shrug his shoulders at her. 

“Fine, one silver piece, but no box or gift wrap!” Katara paid the woman her silver piece.

“That’s fine, I’ll just wear it. Thank you!” She grabbed onto Zuko’s arm again and dragged him away from the stall. 

“Can you believe her? A gold piece? For a shell? I was basically paying for the chain and she’s lucky she got that much. How can she have prices like that down here? How does she sell anything?”

“Katara, didn’t you notice there was no price listed on anything? They base their prices off what they think the customer can afford. You and I don’t look like lower ring citizens, you literally said you travel all the time. She just tried to make as much money as she could.” Katara looked back towards the cart.

“Should I go apologize to her?”

“No, a gold piece was still too much to ask for that necklace. You paid her more than enough.” 

“Hey, why don’t we look like lower ring citizens? We’re wearing Earth Kingdom clothes.” 

“Yeah, but it’s nicer fabric then what they usually wear down here and the shopkeepers tend to know everyone anyway. If they don’t recognize you, they just assume you’re from out of town.” 

Katara looked like she was about to ask Zuko another question when her eyes went wide and she pointed to something behind Zuko.

“Oh, that restaurant looks good, let’s go there!” Zuko looked over to the building Katara was pointing at. Of course, she had picked the rowdiest bar in Ba Sing Se. 

“No, that’s just a bar. The only thing on the menu in there is a fight.” 

“So? I happen to know for a fact that you are an experienced bar brawler.”

“What did your brother tell you?” 

“He told you got into a fight in a bar in Omashu.”

“Yes, but that was Sokka’s fault.”

“And a bar in Gaoling.” 

“That was Toph’s fault.” 

“A bar on Whale Tale Island.”

“That one was actually your fault.”

“My fault?! I wasn’t even there! How was it my fault?”

“Does your brother just tell you every fight he gets into but not the stories behind them? It was nothing, these guys just started talking about ‘the Avatar’s girl’ and we didn’t like what they were saying, so we shut them up.” Katara stopped and put her hands on her waist.

“What exactly did they say?” 

“Honestly, Katara, we might have had some Cactus Juice that night, so I don’t remember much of it.” 

Zuko remembered everything about that night. He didn’t have the luxury of getting so drunk to forget anything. But, there was no reason to tell Katara about the stupid comments made by some drunk idiots. He and Sokka put them in their place and that was all that mattered.

“Well, I appreciate you defending my honor. I know how much it means to you.”

“Very funny. Come on, there’s a dumpling place a few streets over.” 

As much as Zuko didn’t want to potentially spoil the mood, he thought this might be a good time to bring up Aang. 

“So…speaking of the Avatar, have you spoken with him recently?” 

“Yeah, we met up a few months ago actually. He’s doing so much with the new air acolytes. He’s really happy!”

“And how are you feeling?”

“I’m doing really well. I know that I probably seemed really bad when I first wrote to you about it, but it really is all for the best. Aang and I are still friends and there are no hard feelings. I think I was just really emotional when we first ended it. And I was scared about what I was going to do. I mean, I had been traveling with Aang for so long. I knew I wanted to be more than just ‘The Avatar’s Girl’ but when I wasn’t anymore, I felt really lost. But it’s been over two years now and I feel really good about it.” 

Zuko put an arm around Katara’s shoulders. He thought it was a good way to comfort her and lead her into the dumpling shop. She didn’t seem to mind it. 

“Well, I’m glad. I also heard some rumors that the Painted Lady had been traveling around helping people. Do you happen to know anything about that?” Katara put her finger on her chin and furrowed her brows

“Hmm, Painted Lady, you say? No, I don’t think I’ve heard of her. But I have heard that the Blue Spirit has made a reappearance. Do you know anything about that?”

“No, I haven’t heard about that. It might be worth looking into.”

“Maybe they’ll team up one day?” The hostess sat Zuko and Katara at a table near the front of the restaurant. 

“Yeah, maybe they can be like Oma and Shu.” Katara immediately started blushing.

“What do you mean?”

“Oma and Shu. The spirits that founded Omashu. Have you not heard the legend?”

“I have heard it, but I what did you hear?”

“There was a war between these two villages and the people were destroying everything so the local spirits of each village, Oma and Shu, met up to discuss how to save the land from the humans. They decided to use their spirit powers to raise a large mountain between the two villages which stopped the war and they ended up building a city on the mountain and calling it Omashu, after the spirits.” 

“Is that what they taught you in your fancy Fire Nation school? You’ve gotten everything wrong.”

“They don’t teach Earth Kingdom folklore in Fire Nation Schools. I heard it from some nomads while I was traveling the Earth Kingdom with uncle. What’s the real story?” 

The waitress came by and Zuko and Katara ordered their food. Katara proceeded to tell Zuko the real story of the founding of Omashu. Now it was Zuko’s turn to blush, realizing he essentially asked Katara to be his secret lover. 

“So, they weren’t spirits?”

“No.”

“Well…that changes things.” Katara laughed out loud at Zuko’s obvious embarrassment. 

“We should go to the tunnels though. They are really beautiful. When you’re in the dark, these crystals in the ceiling start glowing and lights the trail to the exit. The monument to Oma and Shu is impressive, too. We can bring Toph to make sure we don’t get lost and she can hang out with the badger moles.” 

“Sounds like the catacombs we were in under the city.” Zuko stole a dumpling off of Katara’s plate so she glared at him then stole one of his. 

“They’re nothing like the caves here. The crystals there are much smaller and they don’t glow as brightly. They’re also only in the ceiling… I think. It feels like it was so long ago, I can barely remember the songs those nomads made up about the tunnels. I just remember it ended with ‘and die’.” 

“And die? Sounds like a great vacation spot. You know we can always sneak down into the catacombs under the palace. More sparkling rocks, less death.”

“That crown has made your boring, Fire Lord Zuko.” 

Katara whispered his title. While Zuko was well known and well liked in the Earth Kingdom, she knew he enjoyed basking in anonymity when he was able and the lower ring of Ba Sing Se was perfect for that. Mostly untouched since the war ended and still full of refugees who had no homes or no desire to go back from wherever they had run from during the war. Katara found it sad that there were still so many displaced people this long after the war had ended. She suddenly wondered if Jet would still be in the lower ring had he not been killed by Long Feng. Zuko had a way of reading Katara that no one else did. She was sure she was still smiling, no more than a couple seconds having passed since she called him boring, but he somehow knew she was thinking of something unpleasant.

“Is there something else on your mind, or are you just upset about how boring I am?”

“No, I’ve long since accepted you, despite your many flaws. I was just thinking about these people and how not much has changed for them since the war…and I was wondering, if he was still alive, what Jet would be doing now.”

“Jet would have started fighting the second the Fire Nation broke through that wall and he wouldn’t have stopped until they retreated. I wish he had the chance.”

“Do you still feel guilty about what happened to him?” 

On their way home from seeing that terrible play on Ember Island, Zuko told them about when he met Jet and about how the fight Jet started in the tea shop is what got him arrested. Zuko never knew what happened to Jet until he saw it on that stage. He told everyone that they weren’t close but they did pull a heist together (Toph complained about yet another person besides her getting a Zuko field trip) but everything fell apart when Jet noticed Iroh had heated up some tea. The gang told Zuko about running into Jet while they were in the city and how they had to basically deprogram him. At the time, everyone seemed to feel bad that no one could save him. 

“Do you?” 

Katara shrugged her shoulders. They sat in silence for a few moments more when Zuko stood up and held his hand out to her. She took it and then looped her arm in his as they began walking out of the restaurant. 

“Wait, Zuko, we need to pay the bill”

“I slipped the waitress a gold piece when we came in, told her to keep the change.” 

The meal they had could not have cost more than several copper pieces. Katara knew that Zuko was charitable. He was always taking money out of his personal coffers to help those that the hands of government couldn’t so easily reach.

“Well, at least let me pay you for my portion of the meal.” 

“After you had to spend a silver piece on a seashell? I wouldn’t hear of it.” 

Katara just laughed and conceded. She’d find a way to pay him back. She knew that he was royalty and had much more money then she could ever hope to have, but she never wanted him to think that she expected anything from him monetarily. That was the ultimate downfall of his relationship with Mai. She was too concerned with the perks of being the Fire Lord’s girlfriend. Once Zuko had realized that (a long time after everyone else had realized it, admittedly) he ended things with Mai. 

The two were about to enter a town square with a large fountain when someone shouted “Lee” and Zuko turned towards the voice. Katara assumed it was out of habit, hearing that name while being in his old neighborhood but soon realized it was because he recognized the voice. 

“Oh, my goodness, Lee. I mean Fire Lord Zuko!” The woman went to bow but Zuko grabbed her by the elbow and righted her. 

“That’s not necessary, you’re not a Fire Nation citizen and I’m not really the Fire Lord right now. See,” He lowered his head so she could see the top of it, “no crown. Just call me Zuko.” 

The woman repeated his name then reached up and ruffled Zuko’s hair. She gave him a look that seemed so intimate, it made Katara uncomfortable and more than a little jealous. The woman removed her hand from Zuko’s head and looked over at Katara. 

“Hi, I’m Jin! Who are you?”

“Uh, I’m Katara. So, how do you two know each other?” Zuko at least had the decency to look sheepish. Jin did not. 

“Oh, I was a frequent customer of the tea shop Le- I mean Zuko- and his uncle worked at here in the lower ring. Actually,” Jin turned back to Zuko, “I manage the shop now. I started there soon after you guys went to the upper ring. I wish I had some coupons to give you.” Jin winked at Zuko and he blushed a deeper shade of red. Jin began to laugh. 

“How can you still be so awkward after all these years?!” 

“I’m not awkward!” Katara couldn’t help but laugh at Zuko’s outburst. “Are you on her side too, Katara?”

“I’m always on the side that embarrasses you, Zuko.” Jin perked up immediately. 

“Oh, I like you! How long have you two been together?” That comment elicited a blush from Katara.

“Oh, no. We’re not together. We’re just friends, hanging out.” Jin looked skeptical. 

“Uncle asked Katara to come into town early to cheer me up. He thought I wasn’t in a celebratory enough mood.”

“Ah, so your uncle is still setting you up on dates. That’s adorable! Is that why you’ve come to the fountain? Are you going to reenact our date with Katara?” Jin had an absolutely devious look on her face and Zuko looked like steam was about to come out of his ears.

“Your date? What happened on your date?” Jin grabbed Katara by the arm and dragged her to the fountain in the center of the square. 

“So, first he came out of the tea shop with his hair flattened to his head. His uncle had done it for him, and it looked terrible. After I fixed it, we had dinner. He told me he was a circus kid then dropped a bunch of plates I asked him to juggle. Then we were walking around, and I brought him to this fountain cause I wanted to show him the lights but none of the lanterns were lit. So, he told me to close my eyes, then he lit all the lanterns with his firebending. Then I had to pretend I didn’t know how the lanterns got lit…”

“Wait, you knew?!” 

“Of course I knew. You told me to close my eyes and when I opened them 10 seconds later, all the lanterns were lit. It was pretty obvious.” Katara and Jin were both laughing at how irritated Zuko looked.

“Anyway, after he lit the lanterns, we…exchanged coupons and then he told me he couldn’t see me again and ran off. By the time I had mustered enough courage to return to the tea shop, he had already left for the upper ring. Anyway, everything worked out for the best though! I met this really great guy and you are obviously doing well. But, speaking of the shop, I have to get back. It was nice to see you again, Le – Zuko.” Jin leaned up and gave Zuko a quick kiss on the cheek before running off. 

“She seemed nice but what is her deal with coupons?”

“She was either trying to be tactful or trying to annoy me. On our date she tried to kiss me, and I stopped her by offering her a coupon to the tea shop.”

“Oh Zuko…”

“I know. I know. But she ended up getting her kiss anyway…” 

“Did you actually run off?”

“Yeah. You know how I was back then. I was doing everything in my power to not make a life here. In my eyes, it was just a stop for me and uncle to get on our feet before heading back home. I figured having someone I liked in the city would anchor me to it, make it harder to leave. So, I pushed her away.” 

Zuko looked in the direction that Jin had run off in. He was clearly crestfallen. This was something Zuko often did. He would remember something that he did in the past and beat himself up about it. It was one of the reasons Iroh asked her to come early. Ba Sing Se, being a place where they spent so much time and a place where Zuko made one of his biggest mistakes, always seemed to weigh him down. Katara grabbed Zuko’s hand and interlaced their fingers as she leaned close to him, placing her head on his upper arm. He squeezed her hand but kept his eyes on the street Jin had disappeared down.

They stayed that way for a few moments longer. Then Katara decided to attempt to break the sullen mood. It was her duty, after all, to keep Zuko’s spirits up. 

“Should we ask your uncle to do your hair for the ceremony this week? I’m very interested in seeing this flattened look.”

Zuko laughed and finally looked towards Katara. 

“Trust me, you don’t want to see it. It really was terrible.”

“Your hair might be too long for it anyway…maybe we should cut your hair first.”

“Nice try Katara. I know you’re just jealous that I have the best hair of the gaang.”

Katara was about to retort when Zuko started walking and, as he was still clutching her hand, Katara was dragged along with him. They had often walked arm in arm together but never hand in hand. It almost felt like a proper date. They continued to walk around the lower ring and Zuko pointed out some different places of interest, including the building where his and Iroh’s old apartment was. 

They were passing through a quieter quarter when all the sudden Zuko’s hand pulled out of hers and she realized Zuko had a man pinned to the wall with his arm twisted behind his back. 

“Let me go!” 

“Not until you return the lady’s coin purse.”

Katara reached inside her pocket and, sure enough her coin purse was missing. She didn’t even feel anyone touch her. Katara pulled some water out of the air and formed a water whip that she held over the man’s head.

“Yeah, give me my stuff back!” 

The man was wrestling against Zuko’s grip but he was not making any headway. Zuko not only had height leverage, but he was much more broad than the slight man he was holding onto. 

“How can I give her her stuff back if you have my hands pinned down?” 

Zuko nodded to Katara to let her know he was releasing the man and to have her water whip ready. Zuko let him go and he threw Katara’s coin purse back at Zuko. Zuko handed it back to Katara. She glared at the man who looked like he wanted to run but didn’t want to provoke either of them. 

“Thank you. Now leave and don’t let us catch you again, or else!” 

Katara knew Zuko did most of the work but she wanted to let the man know she knew how to handle herself too, so she bent her water whip into an ice dagger. As the man was walking away from Zuko and Katara, he muttered a water tribe slur and Katara iced him to the nearest wall. 

“Maybe you should hang here for a while and think about what you’ve done.”

The man wouldn’t look Katara in the eyes, but she had long since gotten used to dealing with people like him. Her main focus now was keeping Zuko from burning the man where he stood. She grabbed his hand and rushed him down the nearest alley so she could put space between Zuko and the petty criminal. 

“You shouldn’t have let him off so easy.”

“We got my purse back and he’s going to be stuck to that wall for the next couple of hours at least. Hopefully, he’s learned his lesson.”

Katara was about to place her coin purse back in her outside pocket but thought better of it and opted to place it in the pocket inside of her tunic. 

“How did you even notice he grabbed my purse? I didn’t even notice and he grabbed it out of my pocket.”

Zuko was still fuming and looking back towards where they had just come from like he was hoping the man would follow them. Katara squeezed his hand to grab his attention and Zuko made eye contact with her and came back to himself. 

“We had to deal with this kind of thing all the time when we lived here. You learn to keep your head on a swivel and learn who looks shifty. He had been following us since we left the fountain. I was trying to get to a more secluded spot to confront him, but he made his move earlier than I expected.”

“Was it that rough for you when you lived here?”

“Not really. People tend to find me intimidating and after the fight I had with Jet people were even more inclined to stay away from me.”

“So, you’re saying that you’re less intimidating now then you were when you were 16?” Zuko finally smiled. 

“Lee had a reputation. That guy didn’t know who I am. Plus, when couples are walking around together it’s assumed that they’re paying more attention to one another than to their surroundings. They’re easier targets.” 

Katara blushed at Zuko’s casual use of the word couple. She knew he just meant people in pairs, in general but she couldn’t help thinking what being part of a couple with him would mean. 

“Hm. I don’t care who I’m with. I am not an easy target.”

“Don’t take it personally, they’re professionals and they’re sneaky. If they ever tried to fight you directly, they’d never stand a chance.” 

Zuko possessed a skill that none of the rest of them did. Even though he was royalty, he had lived as a refugee for months. He had the knowledge of the streets that the rest of them just didn’t possess. The gaang were travelers, they almost always had each other, could pretty much always use their bending, and usually stayed away from larger crowds during their travels. Zuko lived on the streets while hiding who he was. He learned what people were capable of and learned how to defend against it when necessary. She recalled Sokka telling her about a recon mission they had in some Earth Kingdom town that was densely populated and riddled with crime. Sokka said Zuko just seemed to always know what the criminals would do next. He was always 10 steps ahead of them. And he was always able to spot a criminal in a crowd. That man is a pick pocket, that man is the decoy… Sokka said it was very impressive. Then he said he realized Zuko was so good at it because he used to be a thief himself. “It takes one to know one”, was Sokka’s take away. 

“Were you ever a pick pocket?”

“No, didn’t have time for that. Also, I wasn’t interested in money. When I was stealing it was usually for food for me and uncle. I went a little overboard to try to make him comfortable a couple times, but I never tried to hurt anyone and I never stole their money. It doesn’t make it okay, but it was what it was.” 

Zuko was doing his far away staring thing again. He looked so much like a sad child. Katara didn’t always know what he was thinking about when he was like this, but she had a pretty good guess. 

“I wish you would talk about that stuff more. I think if you got it off your chest you’d feel better. You don’t have to feel guilty about everything you did back then. You were young and you were just trying to survive.”

“I don’t feel guilty about the petty crime. I was doing what needed to be done; but I’ll always feel guilty about the big stuff.”

Katara had always wished that Zuko had the least amount of interaction with the group over the last 5 years because he was busy with Fire Lord stuff; but she knew deep down he was still upset about his past mistakes. But it had been 5 years and they were all friends. The Four Nations were at peace, it was time for Zuko to be at peace too. Katara dragged Zuko into an alley and pushed him against the wall.

“Katara?”

“No, let me talk. Zuko, you’re an idiot!”

“What?!”

“Still talking! You did a lot of terrible things, but you did a lot of great things too. And if you don’t stop being so negative, I swear, I will follow you around for the rest of your life and tell you how great you are. I will nag you into realizing you are a good person.”

Katara was standing on her tip toes with her right index finger pressed into Zuko’s shoulder. She hadn’t realized how close she had gotten but she wasn’t about to back down now. Zuko was staring at her with that stupid lopsided grin of his.

“Well? Don’t you have anything to say?”

“Am I allowed to talk now?” 

Katara dropped her heels and crossed her arms, “I guess.”

“Thank you for your offer. As much as I’d like you following me around for the rest of my life, it is unnecessary. I’m fine, it’s just this city. If I had made the right choice in the catacombs, who knows what would have happened.”

“What happened in the catacombs doesn’t matter. You made the right choice in the end and helped us win the war.” 

Zuko placed his hand on Katara’s shoulders. He smiled down at her and pulled her into a hug. 

“Thank you Katara.” 

As nice as the hug was, she knew what he was doing. Zuko had never been a hugger. He came to accept that group hugs were a necessary part of team Avatar and had grown used to hugging everyone when they greeted each other, but he was not a random hug initiator. Katara placed her hands on his chest and pushed away from him. 

“Don’t try to distract me with a hug! I’m not letting you off the hook! We’re going to finally talk about this Zuko. When Azula took over Ba Sing Se, you took her side. Your uncle has forgiven you, Aang has forgiven you, I have forgiven you. Why can’t you forgive yourself?”

Zuko was still smiling at her and pulled her into another hug. He pulled her closer this time and held her tighter. Something about it felt different, so Katara just allowed herself to enjoy the embrace and waited for Zuko to talk.

“I’m not still upset about choosing Azula. I’m upset about not choosing you.”

“What?!”


End file.
